---
title: Turn Contributors into Maintainers with TAG Contributor Strategy
linkTitle: Turn Contributors into Maintainers
description: Use a contributor ladder and governance documentation to turn contributors into maintainers
date: "2021-10-29"
conference: KubeCon North America
slides: https://static.sched.com/hosted_files/kccncna2021/15/KubeCon_Contributor%20Strategy%20TAG.pdf
speakers:
  - name: Josh Berkus
    url: https://github.com/jberkus
  - name: Catherine Paganini
    url: https://github.com/CathPag
youtubeID: dI8Ti3ruvuo
---

TAG Contributor Strategy focuses on writing guides and templates to help CNCF maintainers build successful projects and communities. In this session, we will walk you through how to use a contributor ladder along with governance documentation to provide a structure for turning contributors into maintainers. 

This is done through a gradual process where contributors gain increased responsibility within a project jointly with governance documentation that defines the decision making process, values, and principles. The primary topics for this session will include: Promoting and recognizing contributors using a ladder framework The role of governance in contributor promotion and value communication Evolving these concepts as projects move from sandbox to incubating to graduated 

The audience will walk away with tools, templates, and best practices for building successful CNCF projects and communities.
